Apple today filed a lawsuit against HTC for infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone?s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.

The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We?ve decided to do something about it," said Steve Jobs, Apple?s CEO. "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."

Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, sued Apple in January for alleged patent violations.